Kim Correa: Do Utahns really need an insignificant income tax break?

Utah has too much money. Wait … What?

Senate Bill 59, a bill sponsored by Sen. Evan Vickers, originally proposed cutting the Utah income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.9% for corporations and individuals, a move that would reduce the state’s revenue by $79 million per year. The bill was amended by Sen. Dan McCay to further reduce the rate to 4.85% before it passed the Senate.

The bill has a lot of support, but is it in the best interest of our community?

Per the Utah Constitution, income tax revenue can be used for three things: public and higher education, children and individuals with disabilities.

The original plan would have put $25 back in the pocket of someone with taxable income of $50,000. I can’t take my family to Chick-fil-A for $25. Yet that kind of money can effect lasting change on a situation that has been plaguing the Wasatch Front for decades and has recently reached what many call a state of emergency: homeless encampments.

The state is committed to ending homelessness. However, homeless urban camping is at an all-time high along the Wasatch Front, particularly in the downtown Salt Lake City area. The system refers to these folks as the “unsheltered homeless population,” a phrase that whitewashes their plight. I prefer to use real words: They are homeless in intolerable and inhumane conditions.

Some have meager belongings, some have a tarp or tent, some have a car or RV. All are living in conditions that are unsanitary, unhealthy, unsafe, and emotionally traumatizing. Most have disabilities and all are in a constant state of crisis which can cause and exacerbate disabilities like anxiety, depression, PTSD, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease.

Regardless of why people are sleeping out (mental illness, personal choice, full shelters, barred from shelters, to name a few), they present a danger to themselves (like freezing to death) and a host of problems for our community. Telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps doesn’t work; neither does clearing out their sites and moving them on.

Tiny homes are all the rage, and Salt Lake City and the state are amenable to a 37-acre project on city land that will provide a permanent housing solution for 430 people in a couple of years. There is talk of building more shelters.

However, we urgently need a crisis solution to get people off the streets today. A campground is a compassionate, viable, cost-effective, and relatively easy to implement solution. It allows people to maintain some independence and will dramatically improve the downtown area for locals and visitors. (Personally, I don’t care for the almost jail-like sound of “sanctioned campground.” To me, it’s just camping with additional supervision and supports).

For far less than $79 million, we could find land (maybe city-owned land), gather community members who are already working on camping solutions, and quickly install cost-effective infrastructure like portable toilets and showers, durable tents, and Quonset huts for shelter, offices and food service. Under a two-year plan, permanent infrastructure, like RV hookups, solar panels, a full kitchen, and permanent toilets, showers, and offices can be installed. About $15 million annually will fund high-quality ongoing operating costs and case management services to move people into more stable housing.

I know, it’s easy to picture the worst and many people will say, “Not in my backyard.” But we must do something. Architects can design the campground to be aesthetically pleasing from the outside and inside, feel uncrowded, and provide safety for the campers, staff and surrounding community. We can implement best practices from similar programs across the country.

Will it be a perfect solution? Of course not, there is no perfect solution. But it will be infinitely better than the highly visible and disturbing status quo. In fact, our program could become the model for other communities.

There are other needs also going unmet, from education to air pollution.

Would you rather get a few dollars back or see Utah invest in a lasting solution to our homeless camping problem? Add to the conversation. Better yet, draft a respectful email to your state senator and representative (find them on https://le.utah.gov), and let’s do some good.

Kim Correa, Murray, is a homeless services and community advocate.